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Thursday, December 31, 2009

Yesterday was my fourth blogiversary, which I marked by not posting but did get a 3 miler in. Four years ago yesterday, started this running blog and while the frequency of posting has gone down over the years and down during my non-training periods, I'm very happy to mark the day. I'm a few dozen posts from hitting the 1000 mark and looking back, this blog has been a great way to meet other runners and a nice chronicle of how I got to where I am.

Which is, at the end of 2009, 2120 miles or 3411 kilometres. 2009 was a great running year, to say the least. Three marathons, countless other races and I finally got my BQ all while pounding out the miles in Toronto, Washington and places in between.

Tomorrow starts a new cycle, races will loom and Boston and New York will be on the horizon. Winter is the season that tests one's running passion up here, but i'm looking forward to the snowfall, the long runs on the lonely trail. I doubt i'll hit a treadmill. In any case, it'll help burn off the calories I've inhaled over the past two weeks.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

This is the time I dread. I don't have quite enough time to run -- having to help cook dinner, buy and wrap presents, and get ready for the festive season. I do have, however, plenty of time it seems to eat. Cookies and chocolate that gets passed around. The first and second platefuls of carb and protein (and fat) rich foods.

This year, it's slight different. I'm in the second week of marathon training so I'm not fond of dropping the mileage down to nothing. I've fit in 13 miles since Monday, not bad I think, and plan to get out there Christmas morning for maybe a medium long run. On Boxing Day, hope to get another run in.

Today I'm visiting the folks and I threw down four miles in the old hood, including a loop that had me passing my old elementary school. In the track below is where my love of this pursuit was born, many years ago. This afternoon, like most times I've passed it in recent years, it was deserted, dusted with snow.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

I'm finally in a mood for winter running. If only we could get this type of snow in Toronto like we got in DC last night. R. and I went for an hour long walk in the evening. I hammed out a 5 mlier that morning in blizzard conditions.

We're venturing out again for another run. I'll snap whatever pictures I can.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

I took a vacation from running this week, only running about 3 miles in six days. It was actually kinda nice, just staying at home after work with no pressure to get in a workout, or going out with friends into the night without worrying about the next 8 miler.

In our working lives, we look forward to the weekend for that need to recharge. Or a week off in the summer so we can unplug. Because running is our side passion, we often fill those weekends and weeks off with a hell of a lot of running. Sometimes, running actually feels like work -- not in a bad, 'I hate work' way, but in a 'I gotta put on the running shoes five or six days a week' to get the job done. (The job, in the case of marathoners, is the training.)

I've typically run the least amont of monthly mileage in December, it's usually my rest month of the year. Actually, I don't think I've topped 100 miles in each of the last four Decembers. It's a great chance to end of the year. This year, it's different because tomorrow, my 18 week marathon program begins for an April marathon.

So this year, I probably will top 100 miles for this month. I'm kinda glad I have training through the 'eating season' that Christmas tends to be. I'll eat, but have the daily runs haunting my schedule.

Running vacations are great, but we all know that fitness gains are hard to make if you take too long a break, so today, I did 8.5 miles around the city. Hit some hills, ran in the rain, and ended of the last day of my vacation from running with a nice strong run.

Sunday, December 06, 2009

I can't lie, the body wants to be in hibernation mode. It's getting dark early and I wake up on weekends too often not wanting to run. In fact, if there was a weekend to skip a run, this would be it: I'm one week away from starting the next marathon training cycle and could use a step-back week.

But today was a sunny day, and looking at my BlackBerry I saw too many emails fly into my inbox -- it was a Sunday morning and I just couldn't escape work. So I said to myself "You can't not run on a sunny day, you don't get many of them these days."

So without a real goal of distance, I went on a sprawling route around downtown, taking a turn here, a lap at the track, then up a big hill and down a long one. Before it was over, I saw that I was going to do more than 10 miles. By the time I was done, I'd done 20K.

True, I run with an iPod at times, and always with my Garmin, but while I'm connected to these gizmos one thing I do when I run is disconnect from the wired world. Emails, tweets and text messages can land in their many inboxes or screens but for those few hours when I'm running out there, I'm out there disconnected, only to find myself -- while huffing up a hill, breathing hard at a stop light, striding down a sidewalk with studder steps to avoid a pedestrian, looping around the highschool track, gulping down water from an icy cold water bottle, sprinting down asphalt on a deserted street, turning a corner to discover a new route -- that all those motions all help me find the purpose. Reconnecting with myself.

That'll serve as another reason why I run.

Training wise, Boston prep begins in one week. I've been logging strong mileage over the past five weeks so I may take it really easy the next seven days. The first month of training, which will include the holidays, will be relatively light. Lots of 8 to 10 milers in there with some tempo work. The long runs won't get truely long until mid January. It's going to be tough between now and March: The three dark and cold months have always been a test. I'm almost anticipating the snow.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Just finished synching my Garmin with my computer tonight and I've hit the 2000 mile mark (3200K) for the year with one month to go. It helped that I put in 25 miles in two days this past weekend in very decent weather. At this rate, I'll probably hit around 2100 to 2140, depending on how the holiday weeks go.

I'm trying not to think of this as the post-marathon season any more. In two weeks, the good old fun begins as I start to ramp up for Boston training. The schedule is looking merciful right now, considering I'm targetting a less aggressive 55 mile weekly peak (as opposed to the 70 mile peak this past summer's training.) Which means for the first five weeks of thon training will feel like the past month: decent mileage, but not overbearing amount. I'll be adding some pace and LT work and a few longer runs, not topping more than 13 miles over December.

Blogging is going to be pretty sparse over the next while -- won't be running any less, just when you hit the 974 post in four years (yes I started this blog in December 2005!) I still have material, but I can only write so much about these dark and cold late fall nights. Wait till the first snow, I'm sure it'll get me wanting to post something.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

I don't mind as much getting in the miles during the maintenance period, the weeks and months between training. I do mind the fact that I don't get to see the sun very often. I spent Saturday with some friends and by the time I got home, only around 5 p.m., it was already getting dark. Some runners like me love to soak in the sun, so putting on my head lamp and blinker on late fall and winter nights leave me a little less motivated.

Today was a different story. Cool, blue skies and just warm enough for the semi brave to put on shorts and a T-shirt. I ran back and forth on the waterfront trail, tackling the hills of High Park and then into the city in the sun and cool shade before stopping at a Starbucks for an Americano. Everyone's out there with their heavy jackets, jeans and shades. I feel kind of like a rebel in my running gear walking a kilometre back to home, cradling my coffee and soaking in the sun. Kinda nice, actually a perfect way to take in a Sunday afternoon. Beats sitting on a couch watching football (no offense, sports fans).

So just glancing at my calendar:

-Holy crap my marathon training begins in three weeks. This post marathon honeymoon is quickly coming to a close. Luckily, I could probably use a dose of discipline in skedding in my training. This is Boston training, after all.
-My ramping up and maintenance mileage is building quite nicely. No major aches. My last four week of mileage has gone from 23 miles, 33 miles, 39 miles and 39 miles again just this past week. Did a 13 miler today and one last Sunday. I'm in DC next weekend and I think I'll try to push it to 15 miles. Time to go long once again.
-I'm at 1959 miles for the year, just 41 miles away from cracking 2000 again. If things go according to plan, i'll do the 2000th mile somewhere in the National Mall next Sunday. Or in Toronto around Dec 1 or so.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

I just got my photos from the Toronto Marathon. I've a good collection of pictures from some of my eight marathons.

The first: Chicago Marathon, October, 2006, 3:35. This is me about hitting the wall just after Chinatown. A memorable race, aren't the first supposed to be?

The second: Marine Corps Marathon, October, 2007, 3:24. Trained another year, got some sort of a redemption but not quite the goal of 3:20

The third: Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon, 2008, 3:20. Met my goal and then some. We ran an extra 400 metres, so technically ran a 3:18 or so, paced well, didn't hit the wall and the hills were nothing. (You see I have my 'lucky' race gear on.)

The fourth: Toronto Waterfront Marathon, September 2008, 3:19. A BQ attempt (3:10) gone wrong, hit by heat after a strong 37K. It was raced after a remarkable summer of training. Finish line photo tells it all. I ended up in a wheelchair followed by a visit to the medical tent.

The sixth: Mississauga Marathon, May 2009, 3:24. Was pacing a friend for a 3:30 and when we parted ways at 35K, I turned it on. Fantastic finish, great start to the spring.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

I've finally broken the habit of doing only evening running. I think I've seen a lot of sunsets in the past year but i don't think it compares with a sunrise. Something about watching the colours brighten, as you're waking up.

I'm getting back into the habit of running without a schedule it was hard post marathon season to structure my workouts. Now I'm trying to feel out what a daily run shoud be. 5 miles, 6? To keep my base, I'm targetting 35 to 40 miles a week. Sounds like a lot but I think it'll keep me honest so I don't slip before mid December when it all starts up again.

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

We like those finish-line moments, when we throw our hands up in the air and celebrate the end of a well-run race. I watched a thrilling NYC Marathon on Sunday, watching Meb bring it home for the Americans.

I also saw Paula Radcliffe tough it out in the last few miles and when the marathon queen finished fourth, we saw her clench her legs in pain. She held off the pain until the very end. Every marathoner must have cringed. That's courage.

Long distance running, or marathon training, means one puts in pure dedication into a passion. Most of us are full-time workers or students so dedication is measured in the hundreds of miles we put in during an 18-week training program, months after most New Year's Resolutions run out. Dedication is measured in the time -- hours with friends lost, hours put aside -- while we head out the roads while everyone else is sleeping or enjoying a beer or spending an afternoon in front of a couch.

We reach the start line ready to race, ready to "express our fitness." Marathoning for us mere mortals is not about showing off your natural running talent on race day. We freaking work for it.

I was out for a post-marathon recovery run this past weekend and I saw a friend of mine standing there in the middle of the trail. I stopped to say hi and asked if he was waiting for a friend. No, it turned out, he was at mile 12 in the middle of his last 23 miler ahead of Philadelphia. His achilles tendon had flared up and it hurt. I asked if he needed bus fare or help to a phone, but he said he'd walk it off and had money for a phone call. I said that on my way back, "if I see you, I'm going to help you out." As I ran off, I imagined what must have been going through his mind three weeks from the marathon. He'd done seven Bostons yet was going through a run that would give most of us self doubt.

I didn't see him on my way back, but I'm reminded that on my failed BQ attempt, it was he who emerged from the crowd in the last kilometre to run alongside me and pass me water. He pushed aside a race official who could have pulled me from the course. He helped me finish. Here's a picture of me and him. You can tell I'm hurting. And yes, I ended up in the medical tent at the end.

All of this to say, is that while I celebrate my blogging running friends who have great races, I also feel pain (and pride) for the runners who don't have their field day. It's more brave than I can think of for someone like Amy to be sick on race day yet fight her way to the finish. Or someone like Marlene's Mark to train the entire summer, logging 1000 miles, and admit to himself 5 miles from the finish that the smart move would be to forego his victory lap.

Just like I had my bad races, and later experienced a little bit of redemption, I know they'll get theirs. The best part is I know we'll all be lacing up our shoes for the next run, the next training cycle, to log the next thousand miles before you once again toe the start line, with the hope that at the end, you can get that finish-line moment.

Sunday, November 01, 2009

I've been having a lot of fun on the trails this past week. On my first post-marathon run, I lowered the hammer and did a run a little faster than I should have. Today, I was running along a path with posts and I found myself weaving to the left and right of them. Fun running is back, and I'm savouring it.

I think i have a few more weeks in which I'll be able to wear shorts and a T-shirt (with arm warmers). Then it'll be winter mode and time to think about the next marathon cycle, which starts in six weeks.

On a few down moments yesterday, I plugged in my running schedule for the next six months. I know, I know, we're totally anal, us marathoners. When the season is over, we really don't know what to do with ourselves.

All I do know is that it never makes sense to take a total break from exercising, especially for types like me who love schedules. The Pfitzinger program has a 5-week post-marathon recovery schedule that I've plugged in. I've gone a little extra this week (having just done a 9 miler) but I intend to ease back into it.

I've decided that for Boston, i'm going to do a less intense 55 mile a week program from Pfitzinger. I'm not going to kid myself that I'll be able to do any more during the winter. The dark mornings/nights don't help either. For my other spring marathons, I've been able to get away with even a 12 week program assuming i still do the weekly mileage of between 30 and 35 miles in the weeks leading up.

On an interesting note, the BAA sent out an email to past registrants to warm them to apply as soon as they can. Looks like for the 2010 edition, they're selling out quickly. I know a few days ago, they had hit more than 12,800 confirmed. They closed registration in late January but there's talk that it could close earlier.

Registration is underway. If you have met the qualifying standards and intend to enter the race, the B.A.A. urges you to register now and not wait as registration is on pace to reach its maximum field size earlier than ever before. The 2010 edition will mark John Hancock Financial's 25th year as principal sponsor of the world's oldest and most prestigious annual marathon.

For the rest of the year, I have a few goals

-Hit 2000 miles. I'm at 1,847 so I should have no problem hitting that target
-Stay and eat healthy right past December. Part of scheduling in my running is to make sure I keep fit. Also, the temptation to eat like I am in marathon training is there, so trying to behave.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Okay, so here's the victory lap race report. This two marathons in eight days is a new thing for me, was kinda concerned that my legs would not be ready for the big day. The first few days after marathon no. 1, my quads, hamstrings and calves were pretty tight. I took a DAY off running and did 3 miles on Tuesday, 5 miles on Wednesday and 5Kish on Friday. By the Wednesday run, I was feeling better and by Friday, I felt pretty good. At the expo, the race pacers suggested I try a comfortable long run pace for the week-after-the-race run. I took a 3:40, 3:45 and 3:50 pace band.

On Sunday, arrived at the site a little later than usual (took the 6:23 Metro from Archives for future reference), did a bathroom break and had plenty of time. I lined up with the 3:40 to 4:00 group and waited for the start. I told R the night before the times she'd see me (plus or minutes 4 minutes) based on the 3:50 pace.

Start to 10K: Oh these hills, I forgot I loved you soIt was really an odd feeling starting off a marathon at a very comfortable pace. So comfortable in fact that by the first kilometre, I decided to be one of those guys who went off the side of the road to take a pee break by the trees. I don't know what it is about racing, but you suddenly want to hit the washroom every 15 minutes.

That over with, I sped up and caught up with the group of runners I was with pre-pee break. For my third MCM, I found myself really anticipating every turn and rise in the first bit. Within the first mile or so, I saw R, who luckily was wearing a bright florescent green jacket. Traded a high five then tackled some of those usual hills. I took them with purpose and kept on reminding myself to keep it steady.

The goal was to hit 5:27 kilometres or 8:46 miles. I just couldn't get it right. Looking back at my long runs of 18 - 23 miles, I typically do them at 8:05 to 8:19 miles or about 5:00 to 5:15 kilometres. Pace runs, I do at 7:26 miles or 4:36s, so I didn't have the feel for it. The 5K split shows how off I was, I was supposed to hit it at 27:15 but was more than a minute ahead.

5K: 26:06

The downhills were even more fun, and I decided to really not care, just run by feel and see how the splits were turning out. We crossed the bridge into Georgetown and I saw R again (traded high fives!) and then off to tackle those hills where again I tried to consciously not attack. All through this time, I was having a blast, just smiling, enjoying the fact that I was just a few kilometres into my victory lap. I thought about the Toronto Marathon and about what a gorgeous day it was. As we climbed hill after hill, I realized that I actually had to go to the bathroom again! What the hell.

10 K: 51:46 (3:50 pace was 54:30.. uh, yeah, too fast)

10K to the half: Going with the flow

The next 10K or so included more climbs followed by a big descent. Nothing remarkable to this other than that I was looking for a portapotty or a bank of trees to take another pee break. I really loved running toward Georgetown where we saw the runners behind us. So many of them! Spotted a guy with a High 5 and proceeded to slap it for the 2nd time (and would do so again at least one more time). Surprised by the size of the crowd and how freaking quiet they were. They gave us tonnes of space and I almost wanted to get them going.

More downhills and into the Rock Creek path I run from time to time. As we reached the 'orange slice station' I saw two portapotties with only three people line up so I joined the line. I burned about 2 minutes waiting (my kilometre split in that area shows at 7:18 while I was running 5:10s or so) which wasn't a bad thing since I'd burn some time. Two pee breaks in marathon. That was a first.

15 K: 1:18:11 (3:50 pace was 1:21:45. Note to self, don't pace a 3:50 group until I practice that pace)

Running past the Lincoln Memorial on the way to Hains Point is one of the highlights. The crowds were growing thicker and louder. It was just so humbling being part of a marathon where so many people came out to cheer. Just like my first marathon in Chicago, I felt like a rock star.

Things got a lot quieter once we reached the park. It was getting so much quieter and lots of people were hunkering down and concentrating. Me, I felt so chatty but had no one to talk to. Didn't want to be that guy who was all full of energy while everyone else was suffering. We passed a gel station and I picked up two and shouted 'anyone need gels?' No one answered. I later passed a guy with a Canadian T-shirt (the second) and, like the other, I said 'nice shirt, I'm from Toronto, have a good race.'

I've read some people didn't like Hains Point and that it was windy and hard. All I have to say is that in past years, this part of the marathon was right before the bridge (to the 20 mile mark) so I think it's great we get it over with now.

20 K: 1:46:29 (3:50 was 1:49:01)Half: 1:52:22

Half to 30K: Getting the crowd going, two pit stopsThe rest of the park was pretty ho hum, was just maintaining a strong but consistent pace. We entered the Mall by passing through the Tidal Basin area and by the time we got close to Lincoln, the crowds were picking up. I really was starting to enjoy this last half of the marathon thing. The lack of pain I associate with this part of the race was not there. I was just flying (relatively) and paying attention to the crowd searching for R.

25 K: 2:12:46 (3:50 pace was 2:16:16)

I spotted her around kilometer 27 and I stopped. She thought it was so hilarious.

Me: 'hey! I feel great, this is so much fun' (grab gel)R: Why aren't you running?!Me: I have time to burn (eat gel)R: Where do I go next?!Me: (gulp down some water and throw the gel packet down) 'just cross the road.' I point at the crowded row of runners 'and then cross the bridge by the finish'Other spectator: 'why aren't you running?!Me: 'I just ran a marathon last week, this is for fun!'

Picture taken by R. I'm gulping down the gel

I kiss R good bye, and am off my merry way.

That pack of gel must have been magic, cause two kilometres later, as I'm running down toward the Capitol, I start waving my warms. You know, that conducting type of wave to incite the crowd to cheer. Let me tell ya, it works! I'd wave three or four times and they'd respond. SO. MUCH. FUN.

Then I saw some portapotties and decided to take my THIRD pee break.

We ran around the Capitol building and I saw a guy with a 666 bib who was running as the devil. He was having fun, and so was I, and there was this band at the foreground just launching into the Rocky theme song. What is this, a freaking movie?

30 K: 2:40:00 (3:50 pace was 2:43:31 - 3:30 gap)

30K to 40K: Thrash the bridgeTo put it lightly, I felt fantastic as we were making our way out to the famous bridge that leads to the highway to hell, which leads to the final out and back and that leads to the crappy last few miles on more highway.

The last 12.2K of the Marine Corps Marathon is what marathoning is all about. It's about grinding your way through tough miles. If this marathon ended its last miles with crowds everywhere, maybe it'd feel easier, but these marines, nope, they place a freaking highway in the last 12K.

Last year, I was defeated before I hit the bridge. Well, I had stupidly made my second 3:10 attempt in four weeks when I should have been going for a negative split. Two years ago, I made it past the bridge but was done in by mile 23.

This year, I decided to turn it on. My slowest kilometres were my first 32K. My fastest came after the bridge. I didn't go slower than 4:57 kilometres, and many were a lot faster. It's on the bridge where you start to see people stop and stretch. You see people walk. But that day, I was just gaining and passing dozens of runners every few minutes. In fact, with every few strides, I was either gaining on, or shaking out, other runners.

Bridge conquered this year. If I run it again at BQ pace, hopefully I've learned some lessons. We finished it and I passed a water station looking to fill up my bottles again. It proved again smart to have my own water supply that I would rely on for taking gels and my safety net between water stops.

We hit Crystal City and I grabbed a cup of beer from runners! Took a big swig and threw the rest away. I was still passing people.

35 K: 3:05:02 (3:50 pace was 3:10:45 - 5:43 gap)

The next 5K I was just concentrating on racing. I had at this point abandoned the thought of running a 3:50 and was just looking to see if I could smash through the marathon distance by running a progressively faster race. My splits between 35 and 40 were 4:51, 4:54, 4:47, 4:34, 4:53, 4:56. Yes, I can run faster but get this. This was a week after BQing! Awesome.

40 K: 3:29:51 (3:50 pace was 3:38:02 - 8:09 gap)

I hit the 40K mark and looked at my watch and suddenly saw that I could hit 3:40. And as I hit a downhill, a band was playing "Sweet Caroline" and I was singing and laughing while increasing my stride.

We hit the last stretch and even in a healthy and happy state, I totally realized what a depressing march that part of the course is. I blasted through the final water station and just trying to keep up the pace. I did a 4:41 followed by a 4:43.

To the left, I saw the cemetery and it humbled me. To the front, I saw a growing crowd that got louder with every step. I was still passing people left and right and I must have looked like I was in a near sprint compared to the paces around me.

The crowd cheered and I saw R. from the distance. She was now wearing a red TFC (Toronto Football Club) and shades and as I passed her, I screamed "VICTORY LAP BABBBY" as we high fived.

Then I eyed that massive hill at the end of the course, and in my gaze, it became a much smaller hill. I and a group of runners tackled it and I had so much energy that I again raised my arms five or six times while scaling it, conducting the crowd to whoop it up. They did! (LOVE IT, I TELL YA). I was passing people left and right even going up the hill.

I wasn't going to stop. I increased the pace, saw Bart Yasso (of the Yasso 800s), called his name, raised my arms and crossed the finish line of my eighth marathon in 3:40:09. My slowest, but really one of my best times.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Got the confirmation that I've been accepted to run the 2010 Boston Marathon! It took them about a week to process my application. Plane and hotel will be booked shortly.

The year 2010 in my running life will also be dubbed 'The Victory Lap'. I will run two of the marathon majors, Boston and New York. In truth, I began that victory lap yesterday with running the Marine Corps Marathon a week after I got my Boston qualifier. I had such a blast and loved it. Will write up the race report later this week.

Here are the races I'm now eyeing with the focus again on the marathon:

Marathons: The tentative plan is two in the spring, two in the fall. Yes, four!Time goal is to pursue that 3:10 or faster in the fall.

Spring: I want to enjoy Boston, which may mean I'll go for a more comfortable non BQ time pace, like a 3:25 - 3:30. We'll see. The second marathon may also be for fun and set me up for summer training (anyone need pacer?). But I may aim for a sub 3:15 if my winter goes great. Since I'm paying a bucketload for Boston, the second one will probably be local (hello Mississauga?).

Saturday, October 24, 2009

We've all had the pre-race scramble - forgetting to pack our favourite shorts, top or whatever we need on race day to make us feel comfortable.

Before leaving for DC for the Marine Corps Marathon, I do remember distinctly packing my Garmin 405 charging clip in my bag a few days ago. After emptying my bags a few times, I think I lost it at the airport or on the plane.

I checked the power left on my Garmin a few hours ago -- it read 61%, which left very little room for error. Maybe it'd make it to the 20 mile mark then it'd conk out. What if I didn't have the charger and i'll have a dead Garmin for the next few weeks.

I called a few running stores, including the Georgetown Running Company. We were going to go to the area for lunch so I checked. The guy said to come by and they'd figure something out if they could.

On our way over, we stopped by City Sports, where I had to wrangle a staffer in a near empty store to peer down at the Garmin case. He really didn't even care what I was looking for. "Do you see it there?" he asked after I tried to describe the charging clip. No go.

I stated scheming about ways I'd get it to last longer (turn it on right before race start and pray seemed the only thing to do).

Later, after lunch, I wandered into the smaller Georgetown Running Company, which today was filled to the brim with marathoners from overseas looking to buy a lot of shoes. I explained to one guy, I think the owner or manager, my plight. He had about 10 customers to help out and probably was in no mood to do special requests.

"How bad you need it?" he asked.

"I'm running MCM tomorrow" I said.

A sympathetic look. "Give me five minutes."

Fifteen minutes later, when the crowd died down, he fished out a charger from one of his 405 boxes and said he'd sell it to me if he knew how much it cost. I said it cost $20, but I gave him $30 (he asked for $25) "for the trouble."

And now my Garmin is inching its way back to a 100% charge and this runner is very pleased.

Friday, October 23, 2009

I can't lie, I've been on cloud nine over the past week. I don't think about it too much during the day, but every time I've gone out on a run since last Sunday when I qualified for Boston, there have been moments when I'm just beaming, smiling, and wanting to pump my fists. Other times, i've been in near tears, choked up. My stride goes fluid and I want to start knocking off a marathon-pace run, even for a few minutes.

I've been chasing a BQ for years now. Last year, in chasing that goal, I failed and every friend of mine, particularly those who have qualified, have told me it'll be all the more sweeter when I do. I've been logging my mileage for about five years and in that time, i've run more than 8,000 miles (13,000K). I'm probably up to 50 road races since 2005, about to run my eight marathon in a few days, and there's no sign that I'm losing any interest in this running thing.

After work a few days ago, I was running along the waterfront and bumped into Lee during a recovery five miler. Lee was that friend who was on the course last Sunday cheering me on. We've bumped into each other on the trails more than a few times, shared a few runs, a few beers, and so we debriefed each other.

Lee's also raced Boston a few times -- he also took a long path to qualifying for it before he got a major running breakthrough, he's chasing pretty fast time, doing a 3:03 in Chicago a few weeks ago.

I talked about how strong I felt during the BQ marathon. Just like countless other great races, I felt fine from start to end, but this is the marathon distance, the last 6 miles is supposed to be cruel.

"I would have bet $10,000 you'd get your BQ," Lee told me and I still don't agree, i respect that distance too much to be cocky.

So reflecting on the race is more than reliving three hours, 12 minutes and 36 seconds of my perfect race. It was about that 8000 miles, those winter nights when I get the trail to myself and sweltering middday runs in July. It was about staring at the Advanced Marathon 18-week program and wondering how the hell I'd get a 70 mile week in. It was about foregoing sleeping in on Sundays for the past three years basically. It was about urging my body to do tempo and pace work when I dreaded it so well.

It was also remembering the great, the first time I went sub 20 minutes in the 5K, or when i lowered by half marathon mark by 4 minutes (1:31!) a few years ago, or those simple first day of spring runs when you shed your winter layers to feel the air. Or just the feeling of rushing home from work so i could change into my runners to get out the door in a few minutes.

BQ was that goal that was on top of my running life, but not the point of it. It wasn't the definition, but it also was a tough goal that made me work harder. Getting to this point made me a better runner.

I told Lee that somehow I feel like I'm entering a new chapter in my running life. He admitted that when he qualified for Boston years ago, he became a more serious runner. I don't think i'm going to get any more serious, but I'll look at it differently. I want a victory lap of a year in 2010. I want to chase faster times. I want to be a pace bunny one day. And I want to turn my BQ into a confirmed registration so I can finish booking a hotel and flight for a trip to Beantown next April.

As I was walking around the Marine Corps Marathon expo this afternoon, I passed by the Clif pacing team area. Two tall, slim and buff looking dudes (obviously fitter than little old me, right?) walked by the table, saw that there was a piece of paper propped up near the buckets of pacer bands.

It was the list of qualifying times needed to get into Boston. I'm sure you know it well.

"Dude, i gotta do a 3:10 to get into Boston?" one said to the other. They looked a little stunned and the mystique of that marathon grew just a little. Me, I turned, looked at these guys, gave them the once over, reflected, then smiled.

I do love the mega marathon expos. Not only because I can get free beer (as I did today), but because you'll find so many specialty products that you may not find at your local running store. I went this morning to pick up my Marine Corps Marathon race kit.

I've purchased a lot of gear in the past 5 years, but I've also come to a point that I have enough clothes that I don't spend a hell of a lot during the year. That is, until today.

First, race gear! I picked up a hat, my third MCM hat. I love Brooks hats, they are the most aerodynamic and they fit me great. Fine for hot days too. I also purchased a raceday jacket. Yeah, i'm a sucker for these things.

Next, I saw these compression socks that I've added to my collection. I'm wearing them now. Like them more than my other ones cause they're thinner, making it more likely I'd wear them. The brand is Recovery Sock which I'm told is from Italy.

-A box of high end Roctane GU gels (I got them to give me 12 orange and 12 of the blueberry flavour) for -- wait for it -- $50. These gels are way more expensive than the normal kind and would cost me a fortune if I continue to buy them in Canada a few at a time. They threw in two new flavoured ones and a pair of GU running gloves

-A pair of arm warmers (haven't been able to find them in Canada) from Asics.

-A race number and gel belt, just in case.

-An iFitness belt that can hold a cellphone and up to 7 gels and also stay snug. I may bring my phone with me on Sunday.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

I was looking at some of my race splits when I came across some race details generated by the Toronto Marathon site. That was a nice little stat that says all that needs to be said about the last 12K of the marathon. I was never passed.

I didn't run a negative split. The first half included hills and led to a speedy first half. After the 11 mile mark, it was basically flat or uphill. The second half, after I caught up to the pacer, I slowed down to 4:38s for most of the rest of the race.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Yesterday, I pulled on my running gear and ran a scant 2 kilometres. The air was crisp, the sky clear, the wind slight. Later, I traded email with my friend Lee who said he had a good feeling about today. Weather was perfect, he said. I agreed.

My track record for marathoning is mixed. If it were baseball, I would be doing well, batting two for six, the two representing marathons in which I felt strong throughout and never hit the wall. But marathoning is not baseball, and I had too many hard races.

The good ones, both of them were spring marathons on cool days. Like yesterday morning. An omen for today?

The Toronto Marathon is a special event for me, it's where in 2005 I went sub 1:35 for the half marathon. It was there, three weeks after I did another half in 1:36, where my Boston dreams were born. Back then, I remembered doubling the time and adding a few minutes and saw that maybe, just maybe, I would have it in me one day to run the whole distance at that pace.

I spent most of Saturday lounging around, eating pasta, drinking soup, watching running documentaries, generally doing nothing. Oh yeah, and I hydrated very well. Was in bed early and slept relatively soundly. Up at 4:45 for brekkie then started to get ready. R. was in town to run the half marathon, her first. Her sister was running too so R and I took the cab to the sister's place. Her husband dropped us off at the start with a mere 15 minutes to go before the half marathon, which starts an hour before the marathon. We dropped our bags and said goodbye.

I saw the halfers off then wandered into the civic building to keep warm, as it was probably 3C (just a few degrees above freezing). There, I saw the 3:15 pacer! I walked up to him and said "I'm glad to see you." He told me he was going to go out a bit fast because he was going to give a few minutes for the last 3K, which was on an uphill. He said he'd pass the half at 1:35 ("and change"). A little fast, I thought.

Hit the washroom a few times and found myself at the start with 10 minutes to go about to shed my track pants and two sweaters. Fran found me and we chatted, so it was nice to see him. He took my picture here. (Note my trackpants were still on!) He's running a full next week and thinking of another one the week after. I may be crazy enough to join him on the second one.

Here`s a picture that Fran took and sent to me (yes, I am still wearing the track pants, very unfashionable).

I also met Mike who was standing right behind me. We chatted on Twitter throughout the summer so it was nice to put a face to him. He was running his first thon.

I thought this was a downhill course: 1-5K

We took off and I settled into it. As we passed the first 300 metres, I really thought about making a dash for the portapotties. But I decided if I did that too early, I would have to weave my way back to position so I promised myself I'd do a pit stop sometime in the first 8K. The splits we were aiming for a 3:15 finish was 4:37 kilometres (7:29 miles).

As you can see from the splits below, we were going out pretty darned fast. The second kilometre was near tempo pace even though we were climbing. I was a little mifffed at my splits when I saw them cause I knew our pacer was going out too fast. The 4:18 3rd kilometre is understandable given the downhill section but I didn't want to be out of breath.

Kilometre five included a major hill and it's really daunting. As we hit it, I just let the pacer and his group charge up the hill while I took it easier. At the end of the hill, I was out of breath and then I saw my chance. A free portapotty! I ducked inside, checked my breath and relieved myself. It was a perfect breather that also let the pace group get far out of sight, so I didn't have to worry about chasing them.

5K mark in 22:49

1. 00:04:342. 00:04:253. 00:04:184. 00:04:155. 00:05:15

More downhills, but a better pace: 6-10KBy a very happy coincidence, by the time I left the portapotty, I was right behind a group of 5 runners who were moving at the perfect pace. I was so lucky to encounter them, because they really helped me settle down. We hit quite a few splits within my time goal, so with the up and downhill portions, I felt I was in a better place. I took my first gel at the 7K mark.

I remember thinking that I was just about perfectly dressed. The weather was around 5C around that time (mid 40F I believe) but it was also sunny and the wind not strong. Perfect for me to run hard with gloves, a long sleeve (singlet underneath) and shorts.

At the 9K mark, my good friend Jelly was there waiting. She called me yesterday and wished me well. She's the one who convinced me to sign up for my first marathon in 2006 so I was very happy to see her. We then turned to the right for running in residential area, which was a great break.

Tony neighbourhood, a castle and downhill!: 11K-15KI really enjoyed the next section. It had a few turns into a fancy part of town where we encountered church goers and million dollar homes. You can see my splits were pretty freaking fast in these areas because we had some downhill portions. Also, a few of the runners i'd be pacing off were going a little fast (the group of 5 kinda broke down by then).

I was really happy I'd done a preview of the first half of this course last week. I knew what was coming up and how to prepare for it. I really think sometimes it's an advantage to know the turns, the topography so there are no surprises.

As for water stations, I thought they were okay, some of the areas didn't man the Gatorade sections and some of the water cups were unpinchable, which made it hard to get in a good glup without splashing yourself in the face. I was happy to have my own water supply, three bottles in a fuel belt. I put them to good use for taking in my gels. I took my second at kilometre 15.

Yay, consistency! 16K to 20KThe next four kilometres were run in a beautiful Rosedale Valley road, a mostly downhill section lined with older trees. Lots of curves, some sunshine in bits, but a very interesting and varied terrain. I really used my 3 or so kilometres in this section to regain my stride, get my breath back in check and start clicking off real consistent splits.

If there was a rough patch to hit, I hit one for kilometres 19 and 20. I emerged to go west into the city and I was finding the flat terrain a little hard to get used to. A few runners I was with were erratic in their pace and I had lost all the guys I'd been pacing with. Added to that, as we reached the city, the police were letting cars go through the intersections and I saw at least one time when runners were forced to slow. Not good. Also, a few relay runners were blazing by, which was a little weird, and also we were zipping by half marathon walkers. It made pacing a real challenge.

The half, past home and chasing bunnies: 21K - 26K We were running west into the downtown district when we passed the half a little faster than I thought we would. I hit the half mark at 1:35 and change, two minutes faster than 3:15 pace. I saw my friend Lee, Chris, who was handing out water, and Jelly again. I was feeling a little tired but energized for the next bit.

We turned south and into the waterfront trail that is MY HOUSE! As we made our way to Queens Quay, I spotted in 400 metres into the distance a pack of runners. The 3:15 pacer and a good 20 runners behind or ahead of him! I smelled blood and gave chase.

As you guys know, I run the waterfront trail all the time. I live by the water and this marathon`s 21K to 38K is basically run on my home course. I set my sights on the group and upped my pace. When I hit the 23K mark, I took my next gel. As we entered the trail, I was right on their tail. By the 25K mark, I was two runners behind.

Westward and workman miles: 26K to 30KI made my way right beside and behind the pacer and we just clicked the kilometres away. He promised us that he would start doing consistent 4:38s, which made me happy because I wasn`t about to start burning myself up with fast mileage. It was a gorgeous day by then, the sun full on out there and a slight breeze, not too much to hold us back.

We were on an out and back and the pacer was describing the terrain, but my body just knows this trail, almost every rise and turn. When a pace group is doing well, it starts to swallow up other groups of runners, and inevitably, the group grows, swells until it drops those who can`t keep up. We hit the 30K mark with less than half the bigger group I was with. We turned around, went under an inflatable Wall, I punched it once and we were headed back into the city.

Now, the real race: 31K to 35KI had firmly established myself right beside or behind our pacer by this point. He was an unpredictable runner, but some of his tactics probably did me well. He always walked through water stations to take in the liquids, whereas I like to jog or run right through them. I ended up doing slow jogs at the end of every water station then waited for him to catch up with me. He`d then speed up because of that lost time, forcing me to go from a jog to an MP pace to faster to make up for time. I saw this was good cause it gave me time to work out kinks that started to appear as mini cramps.

I was a little worried that the faster than planned first half could bite me in the end. I had taken my fourth gel by the 30K mark and was hoping that it would help me fend off the wall, but the changing pace was not helping me find the consistent splits that I`m used to clicking off.

As we reached the end of this 5K stretch, I was confident. I distinctly remember hitting the 34K mark and saying to myself, "okay, now you only have 5 miles to go, that`s nothing." You will see at kilometre 35 my pacer decided to throw down a 4:23 kilometre in order to make up for a hill. I`m almost sure that broke most runners who were following him.31. 00:04:34 8.15mph 8.9mph32. 00:04:32 8.20mph 8.7mph33. 00:04:33 8.17mph 8.9mph34. 00:04:48 7.74mph 8.4mph35. 00:04:23 8.48mph 8.8mph

Facing your demons, and smashing their heads in: 36K to 39K We had built up such a big cushion but with six kilometres to go (I thought, "four miles!") I knew there was big room for error. I could have cruised in with slower splits but I think slowing down opens the door to defeat and perhaps walking. I remembered last year and how I had done 4:30s and faster on my way to a 3:10 marathon and how after 37 amazing kilometres of hitting my splits, the heat and humidity did me in.

Today, I very well knew that the weather had handed me a perfect day, and as a result, the job was now mine to capitalize on it. I figured that the only way to really survive is to get my splits in and since I had the pacer in front of me, to hang on to him. I shed a water bottle after I couldn`t fit it back into my belt, took my last gel at 36K and fought on. Around this time, I heard my name being called out and later found out it was runnerlisa. I later saw Marlene as she was making her way out west to meet with some of her friends.

Mini cramps had set in from time to time, and I tried altering my stride a few times. By luck, I was reading a few running books yesterday and they addresssed mini cramps in races. First advice: Get fuel and water in you fast. I also happened to read an article recently that said gulps, not sips, are more effective. So to that advice, I gulped in my water and Gatorade in copious amounts. It helped.

By the time I passed my condo at kilometre 38, the pacer was only carrying me and one other runner, an expat who was really chatty. He took off and suddenly, I had my very own pacer! Hilarious, since I told the guy hours earlier "I`m glad to see you." Now, I was glad to have someone bring me home.36. 00:04:44 7.87mph 8.4mph37. 00:04:30 8.26mph 9.4mph38. 00:04:35 8.13mph 9.1mph39. 00:04:40 7.97mph 12.6mph

The final climb: 40K - 41KWe turned north and started a 3.5K run up University Ave, which is on an incline. It was this hill the pacer was telling me about this morning that he usually gives that buffer. I was pretty focused and I knew that I had more than a few minutes in the bank. All I had to do, I thought, was to make it up this freaking hill.

A few weeks ago, on a Saturday, I ran up this hill and had to take breaks at the stop lights. It was bothering me back then, but today, with a taper, a mind with a big goal, I kept up a decent pace despite the incline.

(Picture above, with 3K left, taken by Lee)

We were in the full sun, and it was warming up, but still cool. People were on the sides cheering and I knew I was strong. My friend Lee was on his bike, taking a picture, then I`d see him 500 metres later. And here I was, making my march up to the finish. Boston was mine, I thought. My body wanted to take a break, but I told my body to shut the hell up and endure just a few more minutes. For years, this has been a pursuit, now it was minutes away and mine.

(Picture taken by Lee with about 2K to go)

My pacer asked what I needed and I said 3:15 and he said "you are fine man, you`re there". He was right, I had a massive 3 minute bank by this time. So my personal pacer proceeded to sweep up a slowing runner, trying to drag him with him, and at that point, I took off and into the final 2 kilometres for myself.

40. 00:04:35 8.13mph 15.1mph41. 00:04:43 7.89mph 10.0mph

Victory lap: 41K to the finish

I so wanted the incline to finish, but it would not finish me off. I knew that I had friends waiting for me, and I was thrilled to see them. I saw Jelly, then I saw R`s sister. Seeing R`s sister made me just explode. I was there. I accelerated and I saw R. and two of our friends. They were jumping up and down. I pumped my fist and just powered on. That kilometre, it says on my Garmin, was a 4:18. Among my fastest.

I LOVE this picture that R`s cousin took. Of course, she`s also a professional photographer. You actually see R and two of our friends jumping up and cheering me on as I run on the right side.

The final curve and turn into the finish was amazing. I pumped my fist. I raised my hands and just soaked in the final 200 metres. I thought I would cry after qualifying for Boston, but I slowed to a stop, walked a confident walk, and put on a broad smile. As R and friends beckoned me to them, I walked over and gave R a massive hug, but not before saying "I`m going to Boston."

No tears. Just a plain and simple statement. I have just qualified for the Boston Marathon.

Picture from Jelly`s cousin, who also ran the half.

42. 00:04:18 8.67mph 11.9mph12:17:15 0.24mi 00:01:44 8.17mph 8.7mph

(I just forgot to note that I just lowered my PB by about 7 minutes!)Chip time: 3:12:36Overall: 107/1930Gender: 99/1287Group: 23/201

Friday, October 16, 2009

I walked home in the sun and thought the weather was just about perfect. Yes, it's on the chilly side, but i'll take a high of 10C and sunny, starting at 2C, over a humid day with temps in the high teens or 20C.

I was kinda nervous about the week. The weather has been a worry. The cold or flu that has been making its way around my workplace has had me dousing my hands in sanitizer solution every few hours. Now that I'm safely isolated, having picked up my race pack, I just have a few tasks left.

-figure out my race day gear: I'm going with shorts, a short sleeve with a long sleeve on top, gloves and my MCM race hat. I've got my throwaway track pants and sweater to keep warm in. The shoes, I'm leaning toward wearing my new 1140s. I have broken them in over the last two weeks, having done a 17 miler and 13 miler on them, and they feel good.

-fuel up over the next few days: Just made the trip to pick up my pasta dinner and pastries (bagels, pretzels) at the market. That'll form my dinner tonight and i'll cook up my pasta tomorrow. I'm also starting to really hydrate aggressively with Nuun, soup and Gatorade. For dinner tomorrow, it'll be an early pasta meal followed by a late night snack of a bagel. For race-day brekkie, it'll be a bagel with jam, a banana and maybe a pancake. Before the race, i'll down a gel 30 minutes prerace.

-fuel plan for the race: 5 gels will be on me, and i'll mark clearly on my pace band when to take them. This is a huge tip that reminds me every 35/40 minutes. Will also bring GU chomps to munch on. Will also bring my own supply of water so I can take my gels on my own sked.

-routine: Sleep, rest, a short run tomorrow and watching the Spirit of the Marathon as my prerace inspiration. Will also stretch, visualize those hills.

Monday, October 12, 2009

I've done hills in marathons, never liked them, always suprised me. I like them early and I'd rather have one steep one than dozens of hills.

On Sunday, I took the subway all the way up to the start line of next week's Toronto Marathon, my seventh.

It's a net downhill course, which in basic terms means a fast first half, but within those first 21K - as I found Sunday - there are some monster hills. The map above shows the elevation. You can see in yellow some of the big climbs, and the downhill parts in red (there are big ones!).

As I ran up the first one, known as Hogg's Hollow, I felt my effort skyrocket so that I had to walk at the top. There were a few other medium sized elevations in the first 12K.

On Marathon Day, I do not intend to walk these hills. My PB marathon actually coame on a course that's known to be hilly, the Flying Pig Marathon.

"Run slower at the same effort" is what we're taught to run hills. I'm going to try that, slowing to a 4:45 to 4:50 in the kilometres I'm hitting hills. I'll make it up in the downhills.

I'm really happy I did the course review -- the last 21K of the marathon is mostly run on my daily training ground, which should be an advantage I think.

The big worry I have is having smart pacing. One think I do not want to see happen is too many too-fast kilometres on the downhills. If I'm perfectly paced, I should run the first half in about 1:38. The net downhill effect, I hope, will get me to that point at around 1:36:30, which would give me a great buffer.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Stocked up on some carbs and race-day fuel today, and was a little shocked that my purchase of a pair of socks and a bunch of GU gels and chomps put me back more than $50.

For about $10, I bought some fresh made pasta and sauce, which means let the pasta eating week begin!

Back to the fuels, I've finally found the fuel for me -- GU gels digest the best for me and do not cause as much problems as others. The main problem is that I find others a little too hard to gulp down. I've used GU through the summer, mostly one or two during a long run.

Today, I saw that the store had stocked up on the Roctane gels, which are especially made for long distance, marathons or more. There's a huge difference in the nutritional components. I'm going to try one during my 13 miler tomorrow.

Thursday, October 08, 2009

With 10 more days until marathon day, I headed to the track tonight to do my last Vo2 Max workout. I've done quite a few of these over the years using the Pfitzinger program, a 3x1600 or three, one mile repeats.

A 4K warmup to the track and I did the three repeats. I do these at 5K speed so I aimed at 6:26 miles (a 20 minute 5K)

These aren't my fastest 3x1600, I've done them in 6:14 in previous years. Yet, I'm happy with the time. I never really struggled through the laps and I feel like I could have gone faster. I had to do a lot of weaving tonight as runners were taking the inside lane, but I concentrated on constant pace without it feeling too hard.

Saturday, October 03, 2009

In my years of running, I've settled into a pattern of finding the shoe that gives me comfort, and sticking to them. So while I've never really gone away from the Asics brand, I've usually purchased the GT 2100 series (now at GT 2140) in no large part because they're popular but they also do quite well for my feet.

In the past year, I've tried more neutral running shoes as the GT series tend to give you a lot of support. I found going back and forth between neutral and motion control very noticeable. Some times I'm not sure which shoes is best.

When I first started getting into serious running, one of the shoes I tried was the Asics 1100s, a step down in the price category from the GT series. I last used them in the winter of 2005/2006.

Also in those years, I've gotten into long distance running. Doing 55 to 70 mile weeks puts a lot of stress on you, but it's not much mileage compared with those mega mileage runners who pound out 100 a week.

(Don't worry, this is going somewhere.)

Like a lot of runners, I'm in the middle of the new book Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. It's quite the book that mixes in profiles of personalities, a fascinating portrait of the Mexican Tarahumara tribe of natural-born runners and a study in ultra running. I won't give anything away by saying that Christopher advances the notion that we're "born to run" and not only that, that the modern shoe is a bane to our natural stride and running form.

While listening to the audio book during my runs, I've listened to my form a lot and I do notice that I have lots to work on. I need to feel the road, and to lightly hit the ground while gaining speed and turnover.

Anyways, the other day, I bought a pair of 1140s, and today took them for a test ride. Funny, I had the feel of a new running shoe but with the little less cushioning and the 'lower riding' feel of these shoes, I felt a more natural runner. My friend Lee, who also uses 1100s, confirmed this to me on Twitter, saying he found the GT 2100s too "restrictive" and they messed with mechanics.

Gonna try these shoes on my long run tomorrow. They felt great today but a long run will test that.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

I've entered the marathon taper for yet another marathon cycle and like in previous years, the big question is always, am I ready?

The graph above shows my first six marathons, one in 2007, one in 2008, three last year, and one so far this year (I'm running two this month!). Last year is the benchmark to which I can compare my latest training cycle. You can see in the graph that I put monster mileage in last summer, hitting in one crazy month 300 miles. My result in 2008's BQ attempt is pretty straightforward -- I didn't hit up to the potential that I had built up to.

This year, I ran a strong spring marathon off a relatively light training program. The key mark for endurance for me is reaching 200 miles a month. That tells me I'm putting in the long runs in the weekends plus plenty of mid-week mileage.

So while this year I haven't put in the mega mileage, I have four straight months of putting in 200 miles or more. Aside from my little leg injury that put me out for a week, I'm happy that I've got enough quality runs in.

As they say, it's in the bag now with the taper beginning. I have about 55 miles this week and it's all downhill from there. My job the next while is to get plenty of sleep, keep my fitness from slipping too much, stretching as much as I can, and fitting in my last few longish runs (a 17 miler, 13 miler). I'm looking for a race this weekend in Washington, but that's about it.

I ran 15K today, half of it with my friend Lee, who's running Chicago in a few weeks. I had lots of questions about fuelling, about tapering and stretching. We trade a lot of shop talk. We're both in the middle of our tapers so the type of conversation that we had a month or so had shifted from speed workouts and long runs to how to race a marathon or how to survive those last miles.

I will run my seventh and eight marathon in the next month. Lee will run his 12th. He's run Boston a few times and I'm aiming at my BQ. Between us, we've logged thousands of miles (I've run 7100 miles since I started logging my daily miles in 2006 -- yikes) but yet we feel like we've a lot to learn.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

It's been awhile since I've been able to race a half marathon, a few years in fact. I came to the decision to not chase a PR (1:31:30) and instead use today as a tuneup run, practicing marathon pace and also trying to get 20 miles in for the day.

Officially, I am calling this race the humid marathon -- It was a wee bit on the warm side for fall racing, but not bad for a shorter race. I had a long week and worked most of Friday so I took it really easy, napping, watching TV and eating carbs.

Fast forward to the race, I arrived about 30 minutes before the race and bumped into a former co-worker who ended up winning the media challenge in the half. Really speedy.

It has been a few weeks since I have been able to do some good paced running since my achilles tendon flared up a little. On Friday, I did 5K with a few kilometres at 10K pace so it felt pretty good.

As the race started, I knew my GPS would have some problems due to the bridges and buildings we would be running around. The first few kilometres made it a little difficult to gauge whether I was going too fast.

The first few splits let me to slow down a bit. Most of them were pretty bang ong.

1-5K (somewhat adjusted)0:04:250:04:280:04:390:04:340:04:29

Around the time we were south of the SkyDome, I saw Ed Whitlock, a local running legend in his 70s and going strong.

It was pretty smooth sailing for the next little while, again just trying to regain a feel for the speed I've been avoiding for two weeks. Felt really good to open up and I was happy that my cardio system was able to take it in.

6-10K0:04:350:04:220:04:380:04:400:04:31

I knew I was going faster than the 4:37s than I'd planned so I just stuck with it and tried not to slow down.

11K-15K0:04:340:04:340:04:300:04:290:04:32

Yes, it did occur to me that a year ago to the day, I was doing these types of splits, even faster in bits, as I was running 4:30s, trying to BQ at 3:10. I was feeling a little overwhelmed that today, I was merely matching the pace I did for most of the race a year ago. As we neared the splitoff between the half marathoners and fulls, I felt a swell of pride for those marathoners and said "good hunting, marathoners" to the guys to my right. Felt totally in awe of them. That'll be me in three weeks. Paying homage to their craft, I decided to start hammering it home. Why not.

16K-21KSo the last five kilometres, I just upped the pace and it still felt comfortable. I'm a little glad it didn't feel too hard.

0:04:260:04:270:04:160:04:190:04:310:04:??

The last kilometre up Bay Street, I just started to reel in a lot of runners and by the last 300 metres, I was entering sprint mode.

So that's it, half marathon in 1:35:31, four minutes slower than my PB but a few minutes faster than my marathon pace.

I continued running after the race and put in another 10K. With my warmup, that adds up to about 32K for the day. Taper has started. Marathon countdown begins.

During my post-race 10K, I saw Marlene (first time we've talked in person) and ran with her for a few hundred metres. I saw her later on at the 600 metre to go mark. She did great, lowering her thon time by a big margin. Congrats and here's a blurry picture I took.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Okay, I had my heart set on racing tomorrow and setting a PR for the half marathon, but now that I think more about it, I have to fit in my 20 miler. The half marathon will be done at a marathon pace, which will give me the proper stimulus and let me feel what MP will be.

Looking at it, it's a smart move as my small leg injury (which has totally vanished) resulted in me missing my last long run last weekend and a few speed sessions. Having the last long run three weeks out from marathon day is the perfect way to jolt my body back into some sort of top fitness.

My feeling is either I run 5K right before the race and do 6K after the race or just do the race and complete it with another 10K.

The aim will be do go for 4:37 kilometres, which should feel quite comfortable for a good while, I'm thinking.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

I scratched myself from doing today's 10K race because I'm dealing with a lower calf soreness that I'm worried could get worse if I don't take care of it now.

This past week, I skipped my Monday rest day after doing a 66 mile week and did 10 miles. The day after, I did 12 miles, but at the 6 mile mark, while I was doing some recovery pace (glad I wasn't giving it), I felt a tinge of pain in the left lower calf. I stretched it out and noticed it was pain I haven't felt before.

I jogged home and took the next three days off as R. was in town and we had tickets to see U2 for two nights. In the meantime, I think I have a slight pulled or sprained achilles tendon, which runs from the heel to the lower calf. The pain is not on the heel area but the area right below the calf. I've read that tight calves and high mileage can cause this.

The way to recovery is copious stretching, icing and rest. I've iced it and am using compression socks to give myself a little bit of support. Ran 10K yesterday at a 5:25K pace and it acted up a little. Right now, I'm going to try a 5K jog to get the blood flowing and see where things stand.

I've now missed the long run and some big mileage this week. I'm not too worried but there a more than 80% change I'll have to take this week really lightly. I can even see myself doing short aerobic runs (3-5 miles) in the next five days ahead of my half marathon next Sunday, which I may just do at an easy pace, do at marathon pace or skip all together.

I'm being tentative because I'm a week from the taper, I've put lots of training in the bank and I think I can miss major mileage in the next while to get in some recovery. I will switch to lower mileage and in a few weeks, I'll know if I even want to attempt a 3:15:59. I can build up some lost fitness during the taper period.

I'm a long term runner and though the sprain/pull is not major, I know that if I push it, I can injure myself for good. That's not what I want to happen.

UPDATE: Did a 5K run and it actually felt okay. Stretching, using The Stick and will see how this feels tomorrow morning. Think I may switch to AM/PM runs to get the mileage in but not all at one.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

I was just thinking on a recent run on my path how many hundreds of time I've gone back and forth. Soon enough, you see enough things, like mishaps. Back in 2006, a rollerblader hit a rock right as he was speeding around the corner. I was right there, helped him out, and called an ambulance. It was the one or two times I've ever run with my cellphone with me.

On Friday, I saw a rollerblader in the distance do a spin, then fall. Looked like any other fall, but when I came upon her, I saw blood dripping. She asked me to grab her iPod that she dropped a ways back and I fetched it but when I came back I saw that there was more blood missing and that's when I saw that it wasn't a scrape on her chin. She had a gash that definitely would need stitches. We hunted her backpack and there was a white towel. We got her blades off and shoes on and I handed her cellphone to her. She called her mom. I asked some event staff for a canoe/kayak race whether they had first aid people. They didn't, but we went to the staff. Luckily, she wasn't bleedly badly but I'm kinda glad she didn't see the wound, it wasn't looking pretty.

Anyways, I'm sure she's fine but it got me thinking again about getting injured on the trail. Lesson learned: When you're rollerblading, wear wristguards so you can at least put your hands in front of you. And second, when you see someone take a spill, stop and help. So many runners and cyclists just went by -- it could have been a lot worse.

Mileage was pretty good this week, up to 66 miles or about 106K. Today was supposed to be an MP run but I just didn't have it in me, and settled for a 30K run that progressively got faster.

Next week will be a stepback week -- partly because R. is coming to town and also because we have two nights of U2 (her favourite band). That's fine, I could use a little breather.

Monday, September 07, 2009

Such is the life a marathoner in training. I've been at this for awhile and I've got a while to go.

The last week went quite well, I managed to hit the top end of the mileage (66 miles) while fitting in a few quality sessions: A workout at the track for the first time in a long time, a mid-week 13 miler run at faster than long run pace and a 30K long run.

I can't lie, the mileage is making me stronger but I'm getting pretty tired. So much so that I was going to go out for a run today (holiday) after putting a few hours into work but I just didn't feel like it. Today was a scheduled rest day and I took it.

This is another one of those peak mileage week. I don't have a massive 22 miler but a whole whack of medium long runs.

The schedule looks like this:

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 10 miles w 5x600
Wednesday: 15 miles
Thursday: 6 miles a.m./4 miles pm
Friday: 12 miles
Saturday: 5 miles
Sunday: 18 miles with 14 at MP

That's five runs of 10 miles or more out of six days. Geez. Well, I've learned enough from experience to fit in quality and take rest while you can, so the plan is to try to follow through on the Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday workouts and make Thursday and Saturday shorter recovery runs. Sunday will be a challenging run to say the least, gonna have to find a route that will let me do 14 or so miles at pace.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Today's the longest run in the cycle and looking forward in my schedule, I don't have another long run of this length. When you do the higher mileage programs, 22 milers don't really scare me like they used to. The weather is usually my biggest fear.

I was up at 6:30 for the run. The weather is really cool this week so it was conducive for faster speeds.

As you can see from the map below, you can cover a lot of ground in Toronto. I started out east and passed a group of runners waiting for one of them who needed a bathroom break. They passed me and I let them go, giving a little bit of a chase but they were going too fast for me. I struggled to get beyond a recovery pace at first but after 5 miles, I started to warm up and started to speed up.

Fuel wise, I took in two gels at the 12K and 24K marks. It seemed to do the trick as I also had about 16 oz of Gatorade in my bottles.

Fast forward three hours and I had passed the 22 miles and I felt so good I added a little more mileage. I ended up with 36.5K or 22.6 miles in 3:04. The average pace was 8:09 miles or 5:04 kilometres. Not bad for a long run.

For the week, I logged 67.5 miles or 108K. For the month, 227 miles or 365K. Looking forward, I have speedwork starting this week and this weekend calls for a race. I will do a tempo run instead on Saturday.

Monday, August 24, 2009

After last Saturday's 30K race, I'm left feeling pretty confident that I can do well at a fall marathon, given the right weather conditions. Marathon pace actually felt comfortable, not easy, but doable with more training.

I'm now left with five weeks of heavy training before the taper begins. The Pfitzinger schedule has me doing a 70 mile week, a 68 mile, a 64 mile then another 70 mile week.

I'm not quite going to ramp up the schedule right up to that max, as I just started my new job today. I have some track work and key tempo runs I'd like to get in the next two weeks, otherwise, some of the recovery days i'll just take off to ensure I do quality work justice.

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 6 miles a.m. / 4 miles p.m.
Wednesday: 15 miles
Thursday: 6 miles (option to skip or tone down to 3 miles)
Friday: 11 with 7 at LT
Saturday: 5 miles (option to rest or crosstrain)
Sunday: 22 miles

The key looking at the schedule above is to keep endurance up (ie., a 10 mile day followed by a 15 mile run), some tempo (Friday's LT, shudder the thought) and the long long 22 miler on Sunday. Friday and Sunday are hard days as is Wednesday. In short, wow, this will be a tough running week.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

The marathon pace run is probably the most important leading up to the race day. I tend to like them a bit more than tempo runs and I tend to enjoy track work, which at least is short term pain.

I missed last week's MP run that called for 12 miles at pace as part of a 15 mile run. I really wanted to do the 30K race, or 18.7 miles, mostly at pace. I figure that if you do pace runs by themselves, it's a much harder effort because you have to keep up the pace yourself. If you run it as part of a race, it becomes easier to get your head around it. So why not get the 5 extra miles if you have other runners to pace with, water stops and a route blocked off by pylons and volunteers.

I've run this race twice before, having done the 15K two years ago and the 30K last year. The organizers are tweaking with the race, having the 30K group start an hour before the 15K runners. I thought this was a nice tweak, I think a year ago we started 15 minutes after the 15K runners, which made for interesting racing.

I met up with Fran as we decided at the last minute to pace together. We both have the same BQ pace so we agreed on at least 13 miles at pace then we'd decide where to go from there. We saw Lee and his sister. Lee was going for his MP (which is pretty much as fast or faster than my tempo pace).

1-5KWe seeded ourselves near the front, but back enough that we had to jockey for position. I lost Fran in the first 600 metres or so but he caught up and we started pacing together. We're both about 8 or 9 weeks out till our marathons so while we're in shape, I wasn't sure I was at peak fitness. As you can see, we're kinda trying to find our rhythm and pace (which was 4:38 kilometres).04:4104:4004:3604:3404:34

6-10KThe next while was in and around the Leslie Spit, a park that has asphalt, gravel and dirt. Not easy to make it around the varied surfaces but I was really thankful that we had lots of cloud cover and that the wind was nice. It was pretty humid, though cooler than I'd expected. I was taking fluid at every water stop but I tried to sip some of my own reserves.

I was a little worried about my body's ability to keep up the pace for a long period but by the 10K mark, I felt that my heart rate was settling and the pace was feeling appropriately comfortably hard. Fran was in a similar place so we kept it up. We stayed pretty silent running side by side, talked a little, traded split times. No matter what, it was a lot easier to have someone to share pacing duties. I took my first of two gels at the 10K mark.04:3504:3304:3404:3304:40

11-to-15KWe looped around the lighthouse and took a bit of running on gravel before we were again on proper surface. Bu the important thing was that we were very much on pace. By this stage, we were mostly passing runners as we kept up the running, even into a headwind. 04:3204:3804:3604:3504:38

16-20KAs we made our way out of the park, Fran thought that he had something fly into his nose. A few kiometres later at a portapotty stop, it turns out that a fly had. Amazing. That's never happened to me. With that taken care of, we headed up Leslie and started east toward the Beaches. It was just the two of us and another runner ahead of us who we traded places with a few times. Otherwise, we still hitting our splits. I was feeling pretty good, again it was made easier with a running partner. Fran told me at some point that his heart rate was spiking and that he'd probably slow down after the 21K mark. 04:3804:3504:3604:3704:33

21-25KWe hit the last kilometre together along the winding route around the Ashbridges Park. The half marathon mark was done in about 1:36:07 (I think our actual time was about 1:35:57). If that's the case, that was a much faster than planned half mark. Fran said good luck and I made my way through the rest of the race.

At this point, on my own, I decided to start eyeing runners ahead of me. I thought that maybe if I were to continue a strong pace, I should at least establish that I could run alone. So I started upping the pace to gain on a few runners ahead of me. You can see this in my splits for 22 and 23, when I did a 4:23 and 4:25, quite a few seconds faster than I'd been doing. I had gained on a few runners at this point when we hit the boardwalk. I was starting to feel the effort for those two fast kilometres and I guess they could have done me in, but I kept on telling myself that I didn't have much farther to go. Besides, it was kinda fun running around people on the boardwalk telling them to move because a race was coming through.

04:3204:2304:2504:3004:34

26K to 30KThe last stretch is the turnaround to the end. I was at this point passed about 5 runners and came across two runners. A woman and a guy, who we both passed. There was another male runner about 20 metres ahead of us but it looked like he'd continue his fast pace. So for almost the rest of the race, I slowly tailed the woman. It wasn't until the 27K mark, as we hit the one sharp downhill/uphill section, that I gained ground on her and passed her, only to be passed again by her about 400 metres later. We again fell into pacing, with me running either by her side or a little behind.

The last few kiometres is run on the same route as the 15K's last bit so we came across runners who were going at about 1:15-1:17 finish. Our pace had us going quite a bit faster, so here we were, blasting out 4:30 or so pace passing these runners. Some of them realized we were 30K racers and shouted out encourgement. One guy pushing his kid on a stroller told him that we were '30K runners', 'they're doing this speed for the whole 30K!'

That gave us a boost and we just gunned it to the end. With about a kilometre to go, I upped the pace to about 4:25 and finished strong. I turned back after the finish to congratulate the woman and shook her hand. As it turns out, she was the 3rd overall woman finisher.04:2804:3304:3404:3203:35 (4:23 pace)

I was pretty shocked by my final time. I had hoped to do a consistent paced 2:19:30, but ended up with a strong 2:16:17 with a 4:32 pace (coinciding with a 3:11:40 marathon). Obviously, I gunned it in the last 9K since I lacked pacing patience, but it was gratifying to know that with another six weeks or so of quality training, that I was able to pump out this performance on a semi humid day.

Not bad at all. We caught up with a bunch of runners to share war stories about the sport for hours. Later, after two hours of beers and food, I ran home. In total, I ran 39K yesterday. Think today's run, if at all, will be pretty short.